Interactive brainstorming with documented thought evolution, multi-perspective analysis, and iterative refinement. Serial execution with no agent delegation.
47
36%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
Pending
No eval scenarios have been run
Passed
No known issues
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./.codex/skills/brainstorm-with-file/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
32%Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.
The description identifies the core domain (brainstorming) and mentions some differentiating features like thought evolution and multi-perspective analysis, but these remain abstract rather than concrete. The biggest weakness is the complete absence of a 'Use when...' clause, making it unclear when Claude should select this skill. The implementation detail 'Serial execution with no agent delegation' wastes space on internal mechanics rather than user-facing trigger terms.
Suggestions
Add an explicit 'Use when...' clause with natural trigger terms like 'brainstorm', 'generate ideas', 'explore options', 'think through a problem', 'ideation session'.
Replace the implementation detail 'Serial execution with no agent delegation' with concrete examples of what the skill produces, such as 'generates structured idea lists, pros/cons analyses, and refined solution proposals'.
Include common user phrasings that would trigger this skill, such as 'help me think through', 'what are some ideas for', 'let's brainstorm', or 'explore different angles'.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Names the domain (brainstorming) and some actions (documented thought evolution, multi-perspective analysis, iterative refinement), but these are somewhat abstract rather than concrete, specific actions. 'Documented thought evolution' and 'multi-perspective analysis' are more conceptual than actionable. | 2 / 3 |
Completeness | Describes what it does (brainstorming with thought evolution and multi-perspective analysis) but completely lacks a 'Use when...' clause or any explicit trigger guidance for when Claude should select this skill. Per rubric guidelines, missing 'Use when' caps completeness at 2, and the 'what' is also somewhat weak, so this scores a 1. | 1 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes 'brainstorming' which is a natural keyword users would say, but misses common variations like 'ideation', 'idea generation', 'creative thinking', 'explore ideas', or 'think through'. 'Serial execution with no agent delegation' is implementation jargon, not user-facing language. | 2 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | 'Brainstorming' is somewhat specific but could overlap with general creative writing, problem-solving, or ideation skills. The mention of 'multi-perspective analysis' and 'iterative refinement' adds some distinction but these terms are broad enough to conflict with analytical or research skills. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 7 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
39%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This skill provides a comprehensive and well-structured brainstorming workflow with clear phase sequencing, validation checkpoints, and thorough documentation patterns. However, it is severely over-engineered for a SKILL.md file — at 600+ lines it consumes enormous context window space, repeats information across sections, and inlines all reference material rather than splitting into separate files. The pseudocode is illustrative rather than executable, relying on undefined helper functions.
Suggestions
Reduce content by 60-70%: move implementation details (Phase 0-4 code blocks), reference tables (dimensions, perspectives, modes), and templates into separate files (e.g., IMPLEMENTATION.md, REFERENCE.md, TEMPLATES.md) and link to them from a concise overview
Eliminate redundancy: perspectives are defined in at least 3 places (Phase 2 table, Reference section, Configuration), output structure is listed twice, and brainstorm modes appear in both Configuration and Reference sections
Either make code examples truly executable with defined helper functions, or replace pseudocode with concise natural-language instructions that Claude can interpret directly — the current hybrid approach is neither executable nor maximally concise
Remove explanations of concepts Claude already knows (e.g., what creative/pragmatic/systematic perspectives mean, what brainstorming is, what devil's advocate analysis entails) and focus only on project-specific conventions and output formats
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | Extremely verbose at ~600+ lines. Massive amounts of implementation detail, pseudocode, JSON schemas, and configuration tables that could be dramatically condensed. Explains concepts Claude already understands (what brainstorming is, what perspectives mean). The skill repeats information across sections (e.g., perspectives defined in multiple places, output structure listed twice). | 1 / 3 |
Actionability | Provides concrete JSON schemas, file structures, and pseudocode patterns that give clear guidance on what to produce. However, the code is pseudocode/illustrative JavaScript rather than truly executable — functions like `identifyDimensions()`, `request_user_input()`, `assessCoverage()`, and `formatIdeaMarkdown()` are referenced but never defined. The workflow steps are specific but rely on undefined abstractions. | 2 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The 4-phase workflow is clearly sequenced with explicit steps, sub-steps, success criteria per phase, validation checkpoints (Initial Idea Coverage Check, Recording Protocol triggers), feedback loops (interactive refinement rounds with converge exit condition), and error handling. The flow diagram at the top provides a clear overview, and each phase has defined entry/exit conditions. | 3 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | This is a monolithic wall of text with everything inlined into a single massive document. The detailed implementation code for all 4 phases, reference tables, templates, best practices, error handling, and configuration could easily be split into separate files. There are internal anchor references (e.g., '#round-documentation-pattern') but no external file references to manage complexity. Content that should be in separate reference files (dimension tables, perspective definitions, error handling) is all inline. | 1 / 3 |
Total | 7 / 12 Passed |
Validation
81%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 9 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
| Criteria | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
skill_md_line_count | SKILL.md is long (947 lines); consider splitting into references/ and linking | Warning |
frontmatter_unknown_keys | Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata | Warning |
Total | 9 / 11 Passed | |
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Table of Contents
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